Cycling my own mini Surrey Hills classic

In the spirit of the Liège Bastogne Liège race I thought I would do my own mini Surrey classic and find my climbing legs by riding up a few of the Surrey Hills. 

My route through the Surrey Hills

At this time of year when there are various classic professional cycle races in France, Belgium, Spain, and currently in Italy - races that feature iconic climbs - I wanted to do my own version of a classic ride in my local area.

With my new Liv Avail Advanced 2 and its low gears I decided to put them, and my legs of course, to the test. So where else would I find a route befitting a classic than in the Surrey Hills. After all, I needed to get in a fair bit of climbing ahead of my little cycle challenge in July.

Coldharbour climb near Walden woods

Well, actually there is a choice of places to get in climbs when you're based in South London. Contrary to popular belief, London has hills. Getting to my home from central London involves going over one of a few steep hills at Crystal Palace - Sydenham Hill, College Road, Dulwich Wood, Gipsy Hill, Central Hill - take your pick. Then you enjoy a big drop down the other side, past Crystal Palace Park. By the same token, when riding towards central London from home I have to take these hills in the opposite direction. That's just my neighbourhood - there are other hilly areas too. London-based cyclists can certainly get their share of hills if they wish. Don't underestimate the climbing powers of a London rider - myself not included!

Farthing Down overlooking Croydon and South London

Feeling in the mood to go further afield, I headed south of Croydon and over Farthing Downs to enter the Surrey Hills. Technically, the range of downland terrain  begins at this expanse of ancient grassland and woodland owned by the Corporation of London, that gives views of the City skyline in the distance. But commonly folks think more about venues in the heart of these chalky downs - Box Hill, Leith Hill and Peaslake. That's where I was headed.

 After passing through the suburban town of Reigate I crested my first named climb of the day, Pebble Hill [2.2km; average gradient 4.5%]. These statistics are misleading as parts of the climb are considerably steeper with a short stretch at almost 20%. I had to keep calm on this road and not waste any energy grimacing or getting stressed. It was a real quad-buster and I just had to focus and not allow myself to wobble as the cars chugged on behind me. I saw many groups of cyclists on the road - all of them were going downhill. I wonder why?

Pebble Hill, near Betchworth, Surrey was a quad-buster 

This was definitely a climb where I needed to rest. While recuperating, I spotted a guy pushing his hybrid bike up the hill, then he flaked out in the grass verge while trying to get his breath back. “Are you okay?” I asked him. “Yeah,” he replied, still heaving. “I just hadn't realised how hard the climb was.” I was glad to know he wasn't having a heart attack. “Yeah, it's certainly a toughie,” I replied. Well I'd gotten the hardest climb out of the way first, so from here on in everything would be a piece of cake. Er, kind of!

A loop through Headley and down Lodgebottom Lane, on what was the former Ballbuster Duathlon course took me to the foot of Box Hill. It wasn't quite time to ride up my favourite hil, as it was a case of saving the best till last.

Next up was Ranmore Common [1.8km; average gradient 4%], what I call a Cinderella climb. It is set in very pleasant woodland on a country lane that has few cars on it, though hardly anyone talks about it. Near the top comes a small sting in the tail on a 15% left-hand bend. The first time I rode up this I had to walk. Nowadays I am used to it, and these days the gears on my bike are low enough to crest it in the saddle.

Ranmore Common, where you can go to church or even a vineyard - take your pick

Depending on your preference you are rewarded at the top with either a trip to  Denbies Vineyard or a stopover at the church.

I then dropped down to Dorking and enjoyed lovely views over the North Downs before taking on the longest climb of the ride, Coldharbour [4.5km; average gradient 4.5%]. This climb is the other side of its steeper counterpart, Leith Hill. Where Leith Hill has you honking out of the saddle, Coldharbour takes you gradually up to the eponymous hamlet where road bikers can meet mountain bikers, hikers, and horse riders at the Plough Inn, or at the picnic site below Leith Hill Tower. Nevertheless it's not entirely plain sailing as mid-way up the climb are a couple of 10% ramps, notably at Boar Hill. However, I couldn't ignore the sight of beautiful coniferous woodland near the top.

The Plough Inn, Coldharbour - bolthole for hikers and bikers 

Coldharbour: Snack point and gateway to Leith Hill Tower

An undulating ride over rough roads meant I needed to pay attention as my bike handling skills were put to the test. Having decent tyres was definitely helpful at this time. Back to Westcott, and then Dorking where I could look forward to my final climb of the ride, Box Hill. A classic bike ride can't end without an iconic climb. At 2km and an average 4.5% gradient with no steep ramp, Box Hill is probably one of the easiest of the Surrey Hills. It is the alpine-style switchbacks winding their way to the top of the chalky escarpment and among the box trees that make it famous. For many it's a big-ring climb that can be done after the other significant challenges along the way, often at attacking pace. Then it does become difficult, and at that point you can justify having an extra slice of cake at the National Trust café.

I took the climb at a steady pace, without trying to get a personal best. That was the most appropriate speed given the energy I had left. After all, I still needed to save a bit in the tank to comfortably get me back to London.

Box Hill Zigzag

As ever there were lots of others pedalling up Box Hill at a variety speeds, with many of them overtaking me. Whatever our ability we all met at the top and enjoyed a snack at this hub in the heart of the Surrey Hills.

Box Hill, National Trust Centre café

After a short break I headed home, feeling satisfied with my mini classic in Surrey, and glad to have gone some way towards finding my climbing legs for the Etape du Tour - and the bike fared well too!

Related posts

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Operation Etape du Tour: Cycling around Parc Serralada Litoral, Barcelona

Operation Etape du Tour: Understanding the challenge

Box Hill Zigzag is my best fitness test

Box Hill Zig Zag is my best fitness test

As a London-based cyclist, Box Hill features firmly among my list of places to go for a bike ride. 

It's not actually that local to me, given that the quickest route there can take almost two hours and there are various other country lanes and hills I could ride on nearer to my home. But the ride out to this famous hill, crested multiple times during the London 2012 Olympics is worthwhile.

Box Hill is significant in my cycling life and is such a massive magnet for cyclists from across the London area that it would be sacrilege to not include it on the list. 

I really like this climb, as does everyone else I know. There is something about that turning off Old London Road near Rykas Café onto the Zigzag that gives me that same feeling you get when you finally see a familiar face among a crowd of strangers - the old faithful friend.

Set within chalky terrain in the heart of the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Box Hill towers above the suburban town of Dorking and has a vast country parkland and woodland area where people can admire the views of the landscape below, as they walk or cycling on the trails, or while enjoying a picnic. This is a hotbed of activity on any sunny day, particularly at the weekends.  

In general, when I ride in this area, Box Hill is my final official climb before I head homewards. It's the sweetspot after my previous efforts on the more demanding hills in the area - or maybe the yoga equivalent of shavasana, after tackling the more challenging balancing and twisting poses. 

It is while rolling along this stretch of road on the side of the chalk escarpment, lined with ancient woodland that I can gauge where my fitness is. How my legs feel when climbing Box Hill gives me an idea of whether I am feeling on form or not, or whether I have overdone things during the ride, notably on the earlier Surrey hills that day. It's like an analogue live version of Myfitnesspal.

The friend may be initially slightly demanding at first, as I begin to tackle the opening turns in the road and I feel my legs having to work slightly more than when they were previously coasting along the Dorking by-pass cycle path. But once the Zig Zag car park comes into view I know that I will soon have ticked off the first hairpin, and the gradient will ease off. 

It is usually during this early phase of the climb that many cyclists overtake me as they tackle the hill with enthusiasm and gusto, while I tend to spin an easy gear, gently easing myself into the climb to establish a comfortable rhythm for my legs as well as my lungs. 

Box Hill profile from Old London Road to Box Hill village

Box Hill gradient map

Today, as I rode along I noted that it took me more time to find that comfortable rhythm. My legs felt heavy and my breathing was more laboured than usual. 

On the first bend I spotted the unusual sight of a makeshift cardboard signboard. You wouldn't normally see something so rough and ready-looking in this elegant location. I wondered if it was a political slogan, as people have taken to doing of late, or maybe a sign of encouragement drawn by a child for their middle-aged parent in Lycra. 

As I reached the sign, I noticed two young men, one of them lean and mean, perched against his bike. His more stocky accomplice was holding the cardboard bearing a scruffy inscription in block capitals, "Race me up Box Hill and win £50"! That made me smile. "Maybe not today", I said, while sauntering past. Another rider overtook me at the same time and also laughed. I must admit, if I had been on form I would definitely have taken on the challenge. Winning £50 will pay for a couple of scones at the tea shop at the end of the climb! 

Sadly, by this hairpin, in which the gradient was beginning to ease off, my legs still felt too tired to make the most of the respite as my legs just ground along without finding any increase on my crawling pace. 

Normally I get a second wind along this stretch, but it became apparent that the dial in my energy tank was in the red. My earlier efforts taking the uphill route from Epsom through the Ashtead and Headley, the Ranmore Common climb, as well as Coldharbour were taking their toll on me. I had to accept that I am not as fit as I could be. 

At that point I rolled along and gave myself permission to stop and rest or even walk at the next hairpin, by the Pinehurst care home - maybe someone would take pity on me and offer me some sustenance!

Somehow, on reaching the hairpin a voice inside told me to carry on pedalling, even if my quads hurt. It didn't feel quite right to stop, and I feared that I wouldn't be able to get going again, so I just continued on through towards Donkey Green, passing the Box and Juniper trees with their autumn ochre leaves set against the bright sunshine on this unseasonably warm day.

The final long stretch where the landscape opened out was just a case of hanging on and surviving all the way to the National Trust car park. I focused on maintaining a regular, albeit laboured breathing pattern and believing that I wasn't far from the finish line. I wasn't. The Box Hill climb is around 1.4 miles (2.4 km) up to the National Trust Cafe, with a 120m height gain. 

At this point I only had half a mile (800m) left to pedal, though it felt interminable. Many riders passed me. On seeing me straining along, some greeted me or offered words of encouragement - "Keep going.." "Nearly there..." On the final turn at the car park my grimace began to soften into a smile.

Finally I reached the main refreshment and picnic area, where I rolled straight down to the bike rack. As I dismounted from my bike my leg almost cramped up, though I managed to shake it off as I quickly racked my bike and sank into the adjacent bench.

For around five minutes, everything zoned out in front of me, as I regained normal breathing and recuperated before summoning the energy to queue up for a coffee, sausage roll and almond flapjack - after eating a starter of my packed ham sandwich and banana. There was ice cream on sale too, but I didn't quite have the energy to join that significantly longer queue.

That had been my slowest ride ever up Box Hill. I had basically ridden up the hill on fumes. In the jargon, I had bonked, hit the wall, got the hunger knock. Call it what you will, I had run out of energy. On reflection, that made sense because I hadn't had an evening meal the previous day, and my breakfast was only very light - not great preparation for an 80km bike ride. Schoolboy error!

Once fed and watered, I was able to tackle the rest of the ride home, my energy levels replenished and feeling motivated.

Box Hill is one of my favourite climbs. I can't say how many times I've ridden it in my life - it must be into the hundreds. I know it like the back of my hand, so it makes for a perfect barometer of my fitness and form. It's fair to say my battery was flat. The beauty of the Hill though, is that there are some delicious ways to recharge your legs - once you reach the top.

Phew - it's over !

I really enjoyed following the penultimate stage (stage 19) of the Tour de France last Saturday. The final time trial is always exciting, but this one was particularly gripping. It would have been good if, on the last day there had been a challenge made on the 31 seconds that separated Alberto Contador, Cadel Evans and Levi Leipheimer. But as the tradition and etiquette goes, things were unlikely to change during stage 20. So this was the nearest we'd get to those exciting 8 seconds between Laurent Fignon and Greg Lemond in 1989.

With that, I didn't see much point in watching the last stage. But it sounds like thankfully, the stage was incident and scandal free - something which is a bonus these days ! We just wait with baited breath for the clean-out to continue.

I should've been at the Women's National Series circuit race at Sutton on Sunday. Unfortunately a number of reasons meant I wasn't able to go.
So that day, I did a very leisurely ride. Stanley and I rode out from South London to meet Kat in Weybridge. We all then went over to Holmbury St Mary (via Crocknorth Hill, near Ranmore) to watch a bit of cricket. It was very pleasant to relax in the woods there, watch the willow hit the leather, soak in the sun, while supping beer.

After the break it was then onwards to Cobham via Whitedown Hill. Not the easiest 18% to climb on a beer-filled stomach ! At Cobham, where we said "good bye" to Kat, Stan and I then forged ahead to get home before dark. It was a fast ride back - to Stoke d'Abernon and Oxhshott, through Epsom, over the downs, round Banstead and then back to Wallington. 60 miles on the clock. Not bad for a leisurely ride. We hadn't exactly motored round the route for we were carrying full panniers as a dry run for our upcoming Pyrenean trip. Even with the panniers we didn't fare too badly. But then Ranmore Common and Tourmalet are two different matters !

Once back home, I put my feet up and watched Le Tour highlights. Ok I wasn't that tired, but I was happy to rest up anyway - it had been a frantic week !